Taking the Risk to Go For It

When I was in 5^th grade my gymnastics coach injured her back and was unable to spot anyone. At the time, I had a solid round off back handspring rebound but had never thrown a back tuck by myself. I had worked on them on the tumble track and had been spotted on the floor but hadn’t taken the next step. I’ll never forget the night I asked for a spot and she told me to simply "give it a shot" by myself. I threw it and completely busted on my hands and knees… BUT I THREW IT ALONE AND DIDN’T DIE!!! I was so excited. I threw it again and again and again. I didn’t land that pass for another few practices but I slowly figured out how to pull my feet and when to open up and how much I had to reach. I never asked for a spot on any skill again. Today I can throw any variation through to fulls, jump to tucks, etc. When I think about how many of our athletes refuse to throw a skill without someone spotting them, I can’t help but think…is a dependence on spotting holding us back?
There is a big difference with doing a skill with a spot versus doing a skill alone. The mentality is completely different. Lets say you are halfway through a layout and realize that you are not rotating fast enough. With a spot you can just wait until someone throws you over or catches you. When there is no spot, you need to know what to do to land safely. If you do that layout and are rotating too slow, you should know to tuck or pike to pull your toes underneath you in order to land safely. The more you throw the skill by yourself, the more you will be able to figure out how to make it work.
I am absolutely not saying that you should throw all of your skills alone right away. What I am saying is that there comes a point where your coach tells you to try it and that is when you should go for it! A lot of athletes (and their parents) are afraid of busting! BUT there is nothing wrong with falling, making mistakes, or not doing a skill perfectly while learning the skill. We cannot learn from our mistakes if we never make any. If the coach is always there to tap you on the back or catch you if you fall, you will never learn how to land the skill on your own.
The important thing is to learn how to fall safely. If you are doing a back tuck and over rotate, you need to learn to pull your arms in, tuck your chin, and land in a back roll. If you are doing a full and get lost in mid air, you need to channel your cat-like reflexes and make your feet meet the floor before your head. How many people have landed a standing tuck the first time they tried it alone? How many have fallen on their shins, knees, hands, etc 5-500 times before figuring it out? How many back handsprings have been back head springs before perfecting the skill? We can spot you day and night but until you actually GO FOR IT you will not actually feel how it feels to do it alone.
Tis the season for NEW SKILLS! I say we really kick ourselves into gear. Lets Go for these skills. Lets make mistakes! Lets bust all over the mat! Lets learn how to move our bodies safely no matter what the skill! Each time you bust…you get that much closer to landing! Next time your coach tells you to give it a shot by yourself…I’m asking you to GO FOR IT. It might not be perfect, you might not land it, but you WILL be able to eventually. Take that risk and the skill will be yours.